German Foreign Ministry Proposes Plan for Nagorno-Karabakh Settlement

German plan on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement implies strengthening of the ceasefire regime and settlement of the conflict through the dialogue and stabilization measures, according to a diplomatic source.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — The German Foreign Ministry proposed a seven-point settlement plan aimed at easing tensions in the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, a diplomatic source said Thursday.

The violence in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani breakaway region with a predominantly Armenian population, escalated on Saturday. On Tuesday, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed a ceasefire, after more than three days of deadly fighting in the mountainous region.

"The German seven-point plan to start the settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh should help to reduce the violence outbreak potential and outline the way to the sustainable and peaceful resolution of the conflict," the source told reporters.

The source added that the plan implies strengthening of the ceasefire regime and settlement of the conflict through the dialogue and stabilization measures.

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988, when the Armenian-dominated autonomous region sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, before proclaiming independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The warring sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities in 1994.